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The
Dow Jones Industrial Average (
^DJI) closed up 65 points (+0.4%) at 14,974. During the day, 471.8 million shares of the 30 Dow components have changed hands vs. an average daily trading volume of 621.4 million. The NYSE advances/declines ratio closed at 2,168 issues advancing vs. 864 declining with 79 unchanged.

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The Dow component that led the way higher today was
Travelers Companies (NYSE:
TRV), which sported a $1.26 gain (+1.6%) bringing the stock to $81.18. This single gain lifted the Dow Jones Industrial Average by 9.54 points or roughly accounting for 14.7% of the Dow's overall gain. Volume for Travelers Companies ended the day at 2.1 million shares traded vs. an average daily trading volume of two million shares.

Travelers Companies has a market cap of $30.24 billion and is part of the financial sector and insurance industry. Shares are up 11.3% year to date as of Friday's close. The stock's dividend yield sits at 2.5%.

The Travelers Companies, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides various commercial and personal property and casualty insurance products and services to businesses, government units, associations, and individuals primarily in the United States. The company has a P/E ratio of 12.5, below the S&P 500 P/E ratio of 17.7.

TheStreet Ratings rates Travelers Companies as a
buy. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its solid stock price performance, impressive record of earnings per share growth, largely solid financial position with reasonable debt levels by most measures, expanding profit margins and notable return on equity. We feel these strengths outweigh the fact that the company shows weak operating cash flow.

Holding the Dow back today was
Home Depot (NYSE:
HD), which lagged the broader Dow index with a 60-cent decline (-0.8%) bringing the stock to $76.87. Volume for Home Depot ended the day at 7.4 million shares traded vs. an average daily trading volume of 7.6 million shares.

Home Depot has a market cap of $111.41 billion and is part of the services sector and retail industry. Shares are up 25.3% year to date as of Friday's close. The stock's dividend yield sits at 2%.

The Home Depot, Inc. operates as a home improvement retailer. The company has a P/E ratio of 24.3, above the S&P 500 P/E ratio of 17.7.

TheStreet Ratings rates Home Depot as a
buy. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its impressive record of earnings per share growth, revenue growth, notable return on equity, good cash flow from operations and compelling growth in net income. We feel these strengths outweigh the fact that the company is trading at a premium valuation based on our review of its current price compared to such things as earnings and book value.